Lea Wait's daughter Ali Cia posted today.
It is with great sadness we let you know of the passing of our mom, Lea Wait today. She is very loved and was surrounded by her daughters, in the comfort of her own home. We will let you know about the details of her celebration of life as soon as we secure them. We ask that you please be respectful of our family’s privacy during this very difficult time, as we grieve the loss of our mother. Thank you, to everyone, for the outpouring of support and prayers.
Lea Wait was a best-selling author and speaker who wrote the Mainely Needlepoint Mysteries series, the Shadows Antique Print mysteries, and the Maine Murder Mystery series. She also wrote children's historical novels. Even though she was ill, she finished a new book in March, Thread and Buried (published May 1) and published Justice and Mercy, her first historical mystery. She went to Malice in the Spring and managed to attend Maine Crime Wave in June.
Lea Wait grew up in Maine and New Jersey, majored in drama and English at Chatham College (now University) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and earned her MA and DWD in American Civilization at New York University. While raising the four daughters she adopted as a single parent, Wait worked in public relations and strategic planning for AT&T. She was married to artist Bob Thomas, and has written about their life together in her Living and Writing on the Coast of Maine.
I met Lea several times at Malice. She was always gracious and sharing and supportive. She wrote articles for the Mystery Readers Journal, a post for Mystery Fanfare: Cape Cod and other June Weddings, and we corresponded over the years. She was brave and active to the end. Read her July 5 post on Maine Crime Writers: "My Crazy Health Update"
Pancreatic cancer is the worst. Rest in Peace, Lea.
I am so sad to hear this. What a wonderful and noble woman.
ReplyDeleteI am grieved to hear this news. My deepest sympathy to her family.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this tribute. Btw I checked and learned that Thread and Buried won’t be published until late November. I just finished Thread on Arrival yesterday.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this note and Lea's last blog. I have a close friend suffering from pancreatic cancer. You're right -- it's awful, though Lea did pretty well, all told. My friend had to turn to hospice ... We'll see.
ReplyDeleteLuise Erdmann, Cambridge, Mass.
What terrible news. I'm so very sorry for her family. They have my deepest sympathies. Also for her faithful readers - she will be greatly missed.
ReplyDeleteVery sad to hear this. I love her books and will miss her writing. Prayers to her family
ReplyDeleteI own a number of her books. Lea was kind enough to mail me a signed bookplate for the newest mystery she'd finished. That book will NEVER leave my family's library. I never got to meet her in person but some of my friends did and talked about her lovingly. The world of readers lost a star in the heaven today.
ReplyDeleteIn 2017, I summoned up the courage to contact Lea to see if she would read an ARC of A Hole in One, book 2 in my Glass Dolphin (antiques shop) mystery series. She didn't know me, I was far from being a household name, and yet she accepted the request within hours and provided a lovely blurb for the back of the book. A truly wonderful woman. She will be missed.
ReplyDeleteMy love & condolences to her family . I will miss Lea & Bob very much & will cherish all of her writings & stories.
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